Wicked Lovers 06.5 Wicked All The Way (5 page)

Then suddenly, he was gone—his fingers in her hair, his body
heat against hers, that deep voice that made her shiver. She opened her eyes
with fluttering lashes, then caught sight of his taut profile. Every muscle in
his body looked tense, poised for battle…or sex. Her gaze flitted down. The
front of his jeans protruded, looking even harder than the rest of him.

Instead of being scared as she’d been the last time he had
kissed her, she felt herself tremble with excitement. Her belly flipped. Parts
of her that she had barely thought of in years suddenly turned slick.

Goodness.

She turned away as Caleb took the cans of paint from the
store’s employee and loaded them on the flatbed. He rounded the square counter
of the paint department, gathering tarps and paintbrushes, painter’s tape and a
bit of sandpaper. Caleb did not once look at her as he dragged the cart behind
him, but her intuition told her that he was not angry. Rather, he was
restraining himself. For her.

His actions were commendable and sweet. Still, she hoped
that he would not remain too sweet.

Carlotta had never imagined that anyone—much less a hunk
like Caleb—would find her attractive at this stage of her life. She felt a bit
like pinching herself. Of course, his behavior suggested that he had always
been attracted to her. Shortly after her divorce, however, she had been too
anxious and shell-shocked to handle Caleb. She had wondered if he merely pitied
her or thought she would be an easy mark to ply into bed. Over time and through
Hunter, she had come to know Caleb much better and realized that he was exactly
as he seemed: honest to a fault, steady, sexy. A protector. A provider.

A lover.

“Come with me, Lottie.” His voice rumbled as he nearly sprinted
to the checkout counter at the front of the store.

She rushed on her high heels to keep up and chastised
herself for not wearing more practical shoes in a store this huge.

As they reached the register, Caleb threw everything on the
counter that would fit and jogged to find another cart, shoving every item in
the moment the cashier scanned it. Hunter had paid for the flooring in advance,
so Caleb left that on the flatbed. He barely listened to the total the cashier
rattled off, but swiped the debit card, checked his phone for the PIN, and
punched it in. The second the machine spit out a receipt, he grabbed the scrap
of paper and tore it free, tossed it in one of the bags, then ushered her to
the cart. He took the flatbed with the flooring and jerked it behind him as he
all but ran out of the store. He had the truck half loaded before she reached
the parking lot.

Carlotta suppressed a smile. If he was half as aroused by
the idea of a long, wet, hungry kiss as she was…then, yes, she was impatient to
be out of the unromantic orange of the big-box store and to reach someplace
more private.

On the drive back to the new house, Caleb remained intensely
focused on the road. He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned
white. Thick silence shrouded the cab of the truck. Two yellow lights and a
sharp turn into the driveway later, he brought his truck to a quick stop, then
killed the engine. His abruptness startled her a bit.

“Out of the car, Lottie.”

Suddenly, the swarm of butterflies in her stomach attacked.
It was one thing to ponder kissing a man when she was desperately out of
practice. After all, she had not kissed anyone since their second date. What
happened if things heated beyond a kiss? She was not twenty-one anymore. Her
body showed it. The thought of being naked in front of Caleb filled her with
anxiety.

But no denying that she had missed having a man’s touch.
Being with Eduardo had been a rush of love, but short on actual pleasure. They
had come to one another virgins, and the babies had come so quickly that they’d
had very little time for satisfying sex. They had spent the next years being
parents…and then a violent man had snuffed out Ed’s life. Gordon had been her
only other lover, and he had approached sex as he had everything
else—selfishly.

She suspected that being with Caleb would be totally
different. He might be a man of military precision, but he had the drive and
ambition to be successful at any endeavor he undertook. The thought that he
could give her true pleasure both excited and terrified her.

“Lottie?”

Whipping around toward his voice, she saw him standing at
the passenger door of the truck, holding it open and watching her with a
concerned expression.

She smiled and set her hand in his. Caleb gently tugged her
down and against his body. He was hard all over, his eyes narrow as he studied
her. His breathing fell in low pants on her face.

“Caleb?”

“Come with me,” he said finally and pulled her away from the
truck and up the walkway to the kids’ new front door.

With a press of his key fob, he locked the vehicle. Carlotta
looked over her shoulder as Caleb shoved the key in the lock and opened the
door to the house.

“Are we leaving everything in the truck?”

Caleb pulled her into the house and shut the door, then
backed her against the wall beside it. He settled every angle of his body to
her soft curves and cupped her cheek. “I’m trying like hell to go slow and not
scare you away again, but the way I want you…” He swallowed. “If you’re going
to say no, say it now, Lottie.”

She drew in a shocked breath and blinked up at him. The way
his fingers curled around her neck, the way those incredibly blue eyes delved
deep into her, the desire tightening his face…he would not stop with a kiss.

The Catholic girl in her said that a good female did not
have sex out of wedlock. The fifty-year-old woman whimpered that revealing
herself to a man as fit and beautiful as Caleb would be nothing short of
embarrassing. The hungry woman in her with thirty years of lackluster sex in
her past wanted to know just this once what it meant to splinter apart because
an experienced man had the patience and care to unravel her.

To hell with guilt and insecurity.

Caleb might be as subtle as a bulldozer and he might have
frightened her once, but she had grown stronger, more confident. Today, he had
proven himself competent of meaningful discussion. Over and over, he had shown
her that he respected her fears and feelings. If things between them did not
last and they still had to see one another at family gatherings…well, she would
cross that bridge then.

“Caleb,” she whispered, lacing her fingers around his neck,
pressing herself closer to his body and the erection she couldn’t possibly
miss. “Kiss me.”

He did absolutely nothing for a long heartbeat, just
tightened his grip on her and stared down into her face. Something primitive,
possessive, snarled across his expression as he lowered his head with a moan
and settled his lips over hers. Commandingly gentle. Trembling with tenderness.
A brush, an exchange of breaths, once, twice.

Without a doubt, he held back for her, and the painstakingly
polite kiss was touching—but completely frustrating.

In the past, all his heat and hunger had worried her. Now it
just made her ache for more.

Carlotta tore her mouth from his. “Not like this, Caleb.
Kiss me like you did the last time, when I felt certain you meant to consume
me. So I can feel that you want all of me.”

A feral smile crawled up his lips. “You don’t have to ask me
twice.”

He pulled her away from the wall and into the middle of the
great room, shrugging out of his jacket and laying it across the carpet.

“On there.” He pointed.

She did not hesitate. In fact, the demanding tone she had
once found intimidating now made a new ache dance between her legs.

Never taking her gaze from him, Carlotta eased down onto his
leather jacket. It smelled of him, musky, so manly and leathery. Her heart
started racing, beating in a mad rhythm. Her palms began to sweat. She had read
such descriptions of women being excited by a man before, even heard a few
whispers. She would have sworn they were all lies until now.

He attacked the buttons of his shirt as he kicked off his
shoes and sent her a piercing stare. “Lottie, if you’d like to keep all those
clothes in one piece, start removing them now. I’ve waited over two years for
you. My patience has ended. I’ll make it up to you later. Right now, I want you
naked.”

His words sent a shiver through her. Undress for him in
broad daylight? She had never done that. Goodness, that sounded terribly
sheltered. Her first husband had preferred darkness and they had rarely
progressed past fumbling around clothing, especially after the children had
been born. Gordon had often waited until she was asleep, frequently pushing her
nightgown up and spreading her legs before she was even awake, much less
excited.

“But…you will
see
me.”

“Pardon my French, but I fucking hope so.”

If anything, his impatience was climbing. He tore his shirt
off his shoulders and tossed it on the ground. Carlotta’s mouth went dry.
Bulging shoulders, one covered in a faded, but still dangerous-looking dragon
tattoo. A light dusting of hair just between rigid pectorals. They tapered into
a washboard of abdominals that had her gaping in stunned silence.

“You are beautiful,” she breathed.

“You are too, Lottie. I don’t want to hear you try to tell
me any differently. And you’re stalling. Off with that blouse. I’d rather have
your skirt off too, but if I have to just push it up and rip off your panties
to get to you…”

He would. Caleb didn’t even finish speaking the threat
because he didn’t have to. Carlotta did not doubt that he would follow through.

With a shaky nod, she reached blindly for the buttons on her
blouse. No way was she taking her eyes off him. He was too beautiful. Besides,
if he winced or turned away from the sight of her exposing herself…well, then
she could cover herself again quickly.

Her fingers shook as she pushed each button through its
opening. The cool air hit her collarbones, the swells of her breasts, her
abdomen. Then Caleb was kneeling beside her, tearing the rest of it from her
body.

The beige lace bra she had chosen this morning without any
thought of sex was both sturdy and modest, and she wondered if he would be put
off by something so utilitarian. “I am sorry it is not sexier. My…breasts are
not small, and I am not as young as I once was.”

“Not sexy?” He reached behind her, and with one hand, popped
open the four hooks holding her bra closed. It slithered down her shoulders,
and Caleb dragged it off her body, falling to his knees in front of her to palm
one breast. “God, these are beautiful. You know you’re never going to get me
off of you again, right?”

It may have been the wrong reaction, but she laughed. It
felt good to be wanted. It felt even better to be touched, and when his thumb
flicked over her nipple, sensation zipped up her spine. She gasped.

“You have ten seconds to get that damn skirt off, Lottie, or
I swear I won’t be responsible for how fast I lift it or how hard I fuck you.”

She peered up at him, then blinked, speechless. No man had
ever used that language with her in the bedroom. Always, she had found that
particular f-word a bit vulgar, but coming from Caleb’s mouth with his growl of
desire, it did crazy things to her heartbeat, heated her blood. She drew in a
shaky breath…and realized that the seconds were ticking away.

His strong hands curled around her ankles. He took a moment
to appreciate her one indulgence: red heels. The color of blood, about three
inches high, they were sensible enough to be comfortable, but eye catching
enough to be sexy. Then, one after the other, he peeled them away and tossed
them to the other side of the room.

Their gazes met, clung. Her heart, which had beaten like a
drum against her chest, stopped for a long second.

“Caleb…” She didn’t even know what she was asking for.
Reassurance? A promise that all would be well?

“I’ve got you. I’m going to take good care of you, baby. I’m
going to make you feel so good. But get the damn skirt off. Now.”

Something in that voice made her jump to obey, that steely
tone of authority, she supposed. It wouldn’t lie to her. It wouldn’t let her
down.

Carlotta reached behind her and unzipped her skirt. Slowly,
she wriggled it down, conscious of Caleb’s gaze roaming her. After three
children, her abdomen was not as firm as it had once been. Stretch marks had
faded to faint silvery lines long ago, but time and the years of idleness
during her ankle injury meant that her midsection was no longer anything close
to flat.

“Stop stalling, Lottie. I want to see you.”

Finally, torn between being modest and being attractive, she
lay on her back and pushed the skirt past her hips. The second it reached her
knees, Caleb grabbed the black garment and tore it away, leaving her in nothing
but a pair of lace-trimmed beige hipster panties.

He stared at her
there
,
right between her thighs.

Carlotta groped for something to hold on to and found his
arms on either side of her, holding himself up to hover over her. He swallowed,
then bent to her, placing a kiss on her abdomen. It had to feel soft under his
lips, but the lack of firmness didn’t seem to deter him a bit. Instead, he
moaned and kissed his way up, pausing to lave and suck at her nipples. The jolt
of pleasure lit up her veins, sizzling over her skin. Back and forth he
worshipped her nipples, one after the other, until they ached, took on a life
of their own, and she arched to Caleb, whimpering.

“So beautiful, Lottie. So damn beautiful. That’s it, baby.”
He cupped her breast as he sucked deeply.

Restlessly, she wriggled, squeezing her thighs together to
combat the wet ache, but nothing worked. In her head, she knew that Caleb could
see every flaw of her body in the golden sunlight pouring in from the windows
across the room. But her body hardly cared. It soaked in his attention. It
blossomed. It craved more.